Calgary 'on track' to ease outdoor water restrictions Thursday

Calgary is on track to further ease outdoor water restrictions on Thursday, as city crews continue to monitor a repaired feeder main.

"If the pipe and our system remain stable over the next two days, we are on track to move to Stage 2 water restrictions by Thursday, however, there's still risk as we increase the pressure," Francois Bouchart, the City of Calgary’s director of capital priorities and investment, said Tuesday.

An additional pump at the Bearspaw water treatment plant was activated on Monday, to bring the flow rate in the pipe to 70 per cent, up from 55 per cent.

No further issues have been detected since the pressure was increased.

City crews continue to monitor the pipe's condition, as they gradually increase the pressure.

"The goal is to increase the flow steadily and smoothly," Bouchart said.

"This has gone successfully so far. The water flow has increased, and as of this afternoon, we have not detected any issues within the pipe that might halt our progress."

One new snap in a wire within the pipe was detected before the additional pump was turned back on, bringing the total number of identified snaps to four.

No new snaps have been detected since the pressure was increased on Monday.

If all goes well, water restrictions could be eased further on Thursday.

For now, Calgary remains under Stage 3 outdoor water restrictions, meaning people are only allowed to water plants with a watering can or bucket using water from a tap.

Moving from Stage 3 to Stage 2 would allow Calgarians to use a sprinkler for up to one hour per week.

To remove all water restrictions, the flow rate in the pipe would have to be returned to at least 75 per cent without any issues being found during monitoring of the line.

Calgarians used 558 million litres of water on Monday, with water use expected to rise along with the temperatures this week.

Cost considerations

Nearly six weeks since the water main ruptured, city officials have finally offered up the first idea of a price tag for repairs.

"I can tell you the cost for the repairs is in the tens of millions of dollars, not larger than that," said Michael Thompson, the city's general manager of infrastructure services.

"We believe we have contingencies available to cover that."

Thompson did not elaborate on the cost beyond the broad range, saying it is still being tallied.

He said officials have been closely tracking costs since Day 1 of the water issue and a full breakdown, including the cost of employee overtime, will be released publicly.

The city is expected to ask other levels of government to help pick up some of the tab.

"So I think the contingencies that GM Thompson and other members of administration are talking about have to do with our reserves. It's probably got something to do with budgets, as well. So, within existing budgets, we may be able to cover this," Mayor Jyoti Gondek told journalists on Tuesday.

As the second pump at the Bearspaw plant was activated on Monday, the city also made changes to allow some irrigation work to be done -- something that's previously been restricted for businesses for weeks.

"Yesterday, we were able to expand the scope of what is allowed to include maintenance of irrigation systems. This means that irrigation companies can now run water through the pipes of in-ground sprinkler systems," Bouchart said.

The mayor will hold an update on Tuesday morning.